Unwed 💍

Chapter Nine: Witch Doctor

Dottie's face was turned, her arms crossed tightly around her chest, lips quivering. A single tear rolled down her cheek. Izzy fidgeted, unsure what to do next. "Let me wash my face, and we'll walk back together," she suggested.

The water from the old facet burst out, a dark shade of brown first, then gradually close to clear. It was freezing, numbing her hands as she ran them under it. Leaning forward, she splashed her face, the coldness refreshing her. Finished, she turned around to an empty wall. Dottie was nowhere in sight.

***

Two days passed. Izzy fell into the routine of the place and quickly learned the skills needed to survive in a place like St. Mary's Home for Unwed Mothers. She'd mastered the art of being invisible,  become tactful at diverting Gloria's pressing questions, and learned to block out the screams of labor that rang out through the building regularly.

The longing for her family had edged a bit, as it was replaced by numbness. Donny came to her in her dreams, raising her hopes, then rejecting her every time. The unwelcomed baby inside of her stomach seemed to be growing stronger, its kicks feeling less like bubbles and more like an extraterrestrial lifeform taking over her body. But, every time she remembered baby in the nursery, she was overcome with guilt for resenting her own.

It was a Tuesday morning during breakfast, when Sister Mary Helen announced it was the day that the doctor was coming to see all of the girls. Gloria groaned next to Izzy. "Be prepared for a breakdown," she whispered softly enough that Dottie couldn't hear on Izzy's other side. "Dottie absolutely refuses to see the doctor. They haven't gotten her to do it yet. She goes berserk over it." Gloria rolled her eyes.

Izzy glanced sideways at Dottie, who had stiffened, her jaw clamped shut. Like clockwork, Sister Mary Thomas honed in on them from across the room, and started over, black gown swaying purposefully. Dottie grabbed her fork with jittery hands, and shoved a pile of cold eggs in her mouth. The nun stopped, a pleased smile forming on her face, no doubt feeling accomplished on her victory over Dottie's eating problems. She spun around and headed towards the kitchen.

Dottie choked, gagging down the eggs, her eyes watering. Izzy gave her hand a reassuring squeeze  from under the table. The bell chimed and the girls rose, they'd been assigned to floor duty; a tedious task in the huge castle-like building.

***

Her dress soaked, and knees throbbing, Izzy thrust herself into the dormitory, longing to rest for awhile. But, as soon as she changed her dress, there was an abrupt knock on the door. Sister Martha announced from behind that the girls must line up to be seen by the doctor.

Gloria and Rita bounced up and made their way out ahead of her, Gloria chatting about her boyfriend back home. Izzy was halfway through the door when she remembered what Gloria had said about Dottie. She scanned the room. The little girl was nowhere in sight. Halfway down the hallway, she thought of the bathrooms, and headed there to see if that was where she'd disappeared to. She swung the door open, calling the little girl's name. Her voice echoed against the stone walls. There was no answer.

She was about to turn around and leave, when she noticed that one of the stall doors was closed. Bending down, she peered under it. No one was there. Reaching out, she pushed on the door, but it didn't budge. It had to be locked from the inside.

"Dottie?" she whispered. "Dottie, if you're in there, please come out."

A sniffle came from behind the door, followed by a jagged breath.

"Dottie? Please come out and go to the doctor with me. You'll be in trouble if you don't," Izzy reasoned. "It's for your own good."

A soft whimper hit her ears, filled with anguish.

"Please," Dottie begged, her voice shaky. " Please don't tell them where I am!"

Izzy pressed the side of her face against the stall door, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Why don't you want to go to the doctor, Dottie?"

Silence.

Izzy pulled herself away from the door, trying to think about how she'd handle this if it were Marie. "Tell me why you don't want to go to the doctor, Dottie, or I'll tell them where you are."

More silence. She tapped her foot impatiently on the ground. It wasn't like Dottie to be defiant. It didn't make any sense. "I'm going to see the doctor now," Izzy said as patiently as possible. " You need to see the doctor too." She paused. " My mama says that if you don't go to a doctor to get checked on, terrible things can happen during pregnancy. You don't want something terrible to happen to you, do you?."

Dottie started wailing behind the door. The anguish behind her cries were unlike anything Izzy had ever heard before. She stepped back, her hand to her mouth.

"Something terrible has already happened to me," Dottie sputtered from behind the door. "Something really, really bad."

She was wailing so loud, Izzy was afraid someone would come rushing in at any moment to see what was going on.

"Shhh," Izzy pleaded, placing her hand on the stall door.

"Please, Izzy. Please don't make me do it! I don't want it to happen again."

Izzy leaned into the door, peering through the crack at the shaking little girl. "What happened to you Dottie?" she whispered, a chill moving up her spine.

"It was my fault," Dottie said in a broken voice. "Just like Sister Mary Thomas said. It was all my fault. I wanted to be pretty. I curled my hair." She gritted her teeth, and moaned, tears streaming down her face. Her head fell in shame. "I put on my mother's lipstick."

"We're all here because we made mistakes." Izzy desperately tried to console her through the crack in the door. Her heart was aching for the little girl in front of her. "I loved my boyfriend." she confided softly. " I thought we would be together forever. That we'd get married and have kids. I shouldn't have done what I did, but I loved him. You must have loved your boyfriend too."

"It wasn't a boy," Dottie's voice cracked, the look on her face tortured. She let out an anguished moan, her hands on her head, pulling at her hair. "It was my father."

This part was pretty hard for me to write, it got pretty emotional. As you can see, Dottie has some very deep problems that surpass Izzy's by a long shot. The two of them are bonding together though. Thanks so much for reading this far, I hope you are enjoying it! Please vote if you are ;)